A view of a CDTA bus at the company's garage seen here on on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. New Genfare FastFare fare boxes are being installed on the company's buses. The new fare boxes are being installed in buses with a new design that splits the slot for dollar bills and coins. The new fare box is also smart card ready, a function that CDTA plans to begin using within the next year. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

The 15-mile BRT line, also called the Blue line, will connect Albany to Menands, Watervliet, and Troy, splitting there with one leg continuing to Waterford and the other running through Troy.

CDTA already operates one BRT line, the Red line between downtown Albany and Schenectady along Route 5. A second BRT line, the Purple line, is being developed along Western and Washington Avenues from downtown Albany to Pine Hills, the Harriman office campus, the University at Albany, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and Crossgates Mall.

The public meetings for the Blue line will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The first is June 24 at the Albany Housing Authority headquarters, 200 S. Pearl St., Albany, followed by one on July 1 at the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club, 501 Fourth Ave., Troy; July 8 at the Troy Atrium (CVS entrance) at 4 Third St. in downtown Troy; and July 10 at the North Albany Academy, 570 N. Pearl St., Albany.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Thursday he's seeking an $18.4 million federal grant to upgrade dispatching and communications technology, replacing outmoded technology currently in the buses.

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The Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location system replacement would also assist CDTA in launching its new BRT services.

Schumer also is seeking $17.3 million in federal funding to help the Port of Albany handle container cargo, which is expected to grow as the Panama Canal widening project is completed.